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That's why even losses -- such as in the cases of Gillum and Abrams -- have Democrats excited.

\"They fell short, but look what they did in coming close,\" Democratic strategist and former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile said in an interview with ABC News just before Democrats announced Abrams as their pick for the rebuttal.

\"They expanded the electorate, they made it possible for the next person who gets on the ballot to win -- and they also wrote a new political playbook that I think Democrats have to work on, and that is the campaign has to be about you and not your opponent,\" Brazile said.

Pressley, who said she initially worried that a decisive margin of victory for Democrats in 2018 would allow the party to be less introspective, pointed to picking Abrams as a sign the party was still moving forward.

\"PHOTO:
Paul Sancya/AP, FILE
PHOTO: Donna Brazile speaks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 26, 2016.
>

\"The fact that Stacey Abrams will be delivering the State of the Union response is an early and encouraging indicator to me that we are taking stock of those lessons learned,\" Pressley said.

And experts say choosing Abrams, despite her loss in 2018, sends a unique message that the party doesn't intend to let that energy go.

\"The Democrats aren't going to leave that money on the table,\" Michener said. \"There are some real rewards at stake here. It's crucial for the Democratic Party at this point to decide what sorts of voices they want to represent and what sorts of inroads they want to make as far as the party being optimally inclusive.\"

Keneshia Grant, an assistant professor of political science at Howard University who studies race and the electoral system, pointed out the important timing of this speech, coming out of 2018 and heading into 2020.

\"We can kind of see the Democratic Party -- in the people, the candidates -- are thinking about black voters,\" said Grant, mentioning the early focus 2020 presidential candidates are placing on states like South Carolina, where a majority of those casting ballots will be African-American.

\"Choosing Abrams is in line with that idea that black voters matter,\" Grant said.

That being said, Abrams is up against a tough challenge.

The rebuttal is no walk in the park. It's taken victims, whether it's because of awkwardly interjected sips of water, overused ChapStick, or the premise of rebutting the person in the highest elected office in the U.S.

Yes .@staceyabrams hydration is a very good idea. Trust me on this. https://t.co/zvlztZCBu4

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 1, 2019

A little advice for @staceyabrams as she prepares our Democratic rebuttal:
-Be yourself, you'll crush it
-He'll talk longer than you expect so keep snacks handy
-Be the fighter we know you are
-Misplace your chapstick
-You have millions of Americans standing with you
Good luck!

— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) January 29, 2019

And in the age of Trump, experts also have said Abrams also needs to unify diverse demographics, a challenge she's acknowledged.

One way to go about it? Don't go straight for Trump, Grant said, mirroring Brazile's advice for Democrats to focus on themselves and not their opponents.

\"I think the things she stands for are already in direct conflict with what he stands for,\" she said.

\"I don't think it's as tricky as you might think,\" Pressley said. \"Stacey Abrams is just a sharp contrast in every way of the current occupant of the White House — and that is not only immediately true, visually, but it is also true in how she presents, in how she engages.\"

Another challenge may come if some voters see Abrams as a pick that qualifies as \"identity politics,\" Michener said, a point of sharp criticism of the party after the 2016 presidential elections for voters who thought too much focus on marginalized groups fractured the party.

\"PHOTO:
Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP, FILE
PHOTO: Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams makes remarks during a press conference in Atlanta, Nov. 16, 2018.
>

It's a factor Abrams, who has argued instead that \"identity politics\" strengthen Democracy, has pushed back on, writing in a recent essay that her campaign built an \"unprecedented coalition of people of color, rural whites, suburban dwellers, and young people in the Deep South by articulating an understanding of each group's unique concerns instead of trying to create a false image of universality.\"

\"In my bid for office, I intentionally and vigorously highlighted communities of color and other marginalized groups, not to the exclusion of others but as a recognition of their specific policy needs,\" Abrams wrote in the essay.

The essay was published days after Abrams was announced as the Democrats' pick for the rebuttal.

\"It's interesting to me that Democrats took that really hard thing to do [the rebuttal speech] and they gave that platform to a massively successful African-American, who appeals in ways Democrats might want to come forth, but also risks highlighting some of the division the party is fighting,\" Michener said.

But, Michener pointed out, without risks, there are no rewards.

The role will \"require more of her than it would if she weren't an African American woman,\" Michener said. \"But if starting at a disadvantage was a disqualifier for black women, then we shouldn't do anything at all.\"

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